Need a 2nd, bigger more powerful Saw, 20" +

[Joe Newton]

11 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

What ever you get, put a 25" bar on it.
All good 70cc saws should pull it with ease.

 Why if he doesn't need a 25" bar? By all means keep one for when needed but a shorter bar will cut faster, be quicker to sharpen and cost less in chains. 

[Rough Hewn]

 Why if he doesn't need a 25" bar? By all means keep one for when needed but a shorter bar will cut faster, be quicker to sharpen and cost less in chains. 

1.5-2m trunk with a 20" bar?
I run 18" on a 261, my 20" bar is never used. I tried it on the 461 and 661 and I couldn't see the point.
If I'm cutting up to 20" the 261.
21-28" logs the 461 25"
Long ago I cut up a 1.2m dbh oak with just a 440 25".
Took a loooong time, but almost impossible with a 20" bar.
Otherwise very fair points.
[emoji106]

[Mark J]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=husqvarna+chainsaw&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1311.R1.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xhusqvarna+chainsaw+576.TRS0&_nkw=husqvarna+chainsaw+576+xp&_sacat=0

 

Husqvarna 576

Buy an 18" bar and maybe a 24" one.  Job's a goodun.

Edited October 9, 2018 by Mark J

[Woodworks]

29 minutes ago, Joe Newton said:

 Why if he doesn't need a 25" bar? By all means keep one for when needed but a shorter bar will cut faster, be quicker to sharpen and cost less in chains. 

Agree that if you dont need a long bar dont have one but a longer chain has more teeth to sharpen but they blunt more slowly as there are more teeth to do the work. 

[Blah]

1 hour ago, william127 said:

A stihl 661 would cut better than any of those but is noticeably heavier. I considered it when I got my 461 but the weight difference felt far more than it is on paper?

 

I had the opposite experience. With a 36" bar, then yes, the 661 is heavier and more unwieldy, but with the same 25" bar I noticed less difference in real life between my old 441 and new 661 than I was expecting. 

 

I use the 661 regularly with 20", 25" and 36". 

[scbk]

I think you need 2 new saws, a 50cc-ish and a 70cc+

 

Pick whatever brand you can get locally, and you like the colour of!

[huskykev]

562 with 18” full chisel and 24” on a skip. Lighter and cheaper than a 462....

[Big J]

https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/makita-ea7300p45e-73cc-petrol-18-45cm-professional-chainsaw.html

 

I will very likely order one shortly. I had one of it's predecessors when I had the sawmill. Very fast and powerful saws, and they give away nothing to their Stihl and Husqvarna counterparts, yet they are £350 cheaper.

[Joe Newton]

10 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

1.5-2m trunk with a 20" bar?
I run 18" on a 261, my 20" bar is never used. I tried it on the 461 and 661 and I couldn't see the point.
If I'm cutting up to 20" the 261.
21-28" logs the 461 25"
Long ago I cut up a 1.2m dbh oak with just a 440 25".
Took a loooong time, but almost impossible with a 20" bar.
Otherwise very fair points.

If he's genuinely cutting 1.5m trunks regularly then he needs a 880. That's 60". Unless it's an ancient woodland I doubt there going to me much 1.5m timber in there. 

10 hours ago, Woodworks said:

Agree that if you dont need a long bar dont have one but a longer chain has more teeth to sharpen but they blunt more slowly as there are more teeth to do the work. 

 They blunt just as fast when you find dirt or metal!

[Woodworks]

12 minutes ago, Joe Newton said:

 

 They blunt just as fast when you find dirt or metal!

The saw is always being blunted just far more slowly in clean wood than dirty wood. I am not going to choose my bar length based on the vague possibility of hitting metal. I do logs not garden felling so might take a different view in that environment. Very rarely meet metal in my line of work.